The Sixers Are 4-2 Since Paul George's Suspension. How Have They Done It?

It appeared as though Paul George's suspension couldn't have come at a worse time. They were five games above .500 and about to embark on a daunting five-game road trip out west.

They were going to travel from Philadelphia to Los Angeles, from Los Angeles to San Francisco, from San Francisco back to Los Angeles. They were going to jump from Pacific time to Mountain time and then back to Pacific time on the way home.

Yet, they went 3-2 on the road trip, losing the final game while being severely undermanned outside of George being out. They had a double-digit lead in all five games. Philadelphia won the game before the road trip, and reached a season-best eight games above .500 during the trip.

Even in a rebound second season in Philadelphia, George has not recovered the All-Star form he reached throughout his career. Still, he remains an excellent defender, a consistent 16 points per game and a high-level, volume three-point shooter for a team that is a tick below average from beyond the arc.

So, how have they managed to continue their winning ways without him?

Opponent quality

The Pelicans were 13-37 heading into the Sixers' first game without George. Zion Williamson did not make his first shot of the game until the third quarter. He finished with 11 points and five rebounds.

The Clippers were without James Harden and everyone on that team played like they knew that his time with the team was nearing its end.

The Warriors were without Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Jonathan Kuminga.

The victory over the Phoenix Suns was a legitimately strong one. No qualifiers necessary.

Crashing the glass

The energy to fight for the glass was a time-tested trend through the six games. Philadelphia either outshot the opponent or held the offensive glass in all four wins.

Game	Opp OREB	Opp FG%	Sixers OREB	FG%	Outcome
Pelicans	11	43.5	12	47.9	W
Clippers	5	59	14	47.9	W
Warriors	8	47.4	25	45.2	W
Lakers	10	55.7	4	53.6	L
Suns	12	39.8	11	47.3	W
Blazers	20	48.5	8	46.9	L

In the two losses, the Sixers handily lost the battle of bites at the apple. That hurts, but they also compounded the issue by not being the more efficient team scoring the ball.

We can do basic math on this. The Lakers, on average, added five extra made shots by way of crashing the offensive glass. The Sixers, by comparison, added just two. Philadelphia lost the game by four.

The Blazers added roughly 9.7 made shots through offensive rebounds. The Sixers added just 3.8. Philadelphia lost the game by 17.

Dominick Barlow seized the opportunity bestowed upon him by George's absence, too. He was critical to Philadelphia's efforts on the offensive glass against the Clippers and Warriors, amassing 16 offensive rebounds across the back-to-back. He had 10 of Philadelphia's 14 in Los Angeles but just six of the 25 in San Francisco.

What does this all speak to?

It's still fairly early in George's suspension. He has 19 games left. The Sixers' schedule will ebb and flow after the All-Star break, vacillating between strong opponents and teams that are actively trying to lose their ways to the top of the lottery.

But this is going to be a team effort. No, you're not trying to replace George. His skills and experience are not commodities this team has the means to recreate elsewhere. What the Sixers are putting on film, though, is that they can cobble together production through other means. They like to throw around the cliche "next man up mentality". It's boring, but, to their credit, the Sixers have played to it.

They're hardly out of the woods yet. But they've built some equity amongst themselves by piling up victories in the early stages of George's absence.

They cannot and have not rested on the laurels of their talents. They have and will continue to have to do things they haven't been particularly consistent with all season — winning on the margins.